Someplace to stash all the words the voices keep pouring into my head.

Issues will be thrashed about. Social mores will be ignored. Drinks will be served.

schizohedron at optonline dot net

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

A Brief Smile About my Workplace

I'D LIKE TO SHARE one aspect of my current job that brings me a tiny bit of terror but a larger amount of satisfaction.

A few times thus far, coworkers and managers have asked me to do things — interview a source, extensively rewrite a nonprofessionally written article, update the magazine's website, even edit video — in a manner that, compared to the way my previous company's management would've asked, struck me as far more professional.

I'm not sure I can express how exactly it was different. The closest I can come is to say that I felt like a long-established member of the organization, rather than a dumping ground for tasks that did not interest a higher-up or were seen as more cheaply done by someone in house, regardless of their actual experience with the tasks.

Now, I don't know fully how to do everything they've asked me to do. (The video-editing possibility, which came today, falls more into the "no idea" category.) That's where the slight edge of terror comes in. But I haven't let it stop me. I have requested aid, or assistance in finding it, but I haven't allowed the gulf between my current and future ability to carry out the task paralyze me. And they've provided said aid without any apparent loss of respect. Very encouraging.

A lot of people raise a stink about their jobs, for a wide and subjective range of reasons, and I can tell you, my workplace isn't perfect. In the respect I've just described, however, it exceeds my expectations, and I want this blog to record it, in case those expectations change, or if I simply have a moment of narcissistic solipsism in which a crappy day or week clouds the big picture.